Wrench



Sept. il; E923. ll@

. J. P. COUGHLJN WRENCH' d'riginal Filed oct. 4, 1919 waxy/11112110. f rw EMM Patented Sept. 11, 1923.

UNITE-D STATES PA'IEN @FFiQ-.

JOHN PATRICK COUGHLIN, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

WRENCH.

Application ledr'October 4, 1919, Serial No. 328,548.

To all whom t may 'concern/3' Be it'known thatI, JOHN PATRICK CoUGH-LIN, a citizen of the U'nited States, and a resident of the city 'ofChicago, county' of Cook, andSt-ate ofIllinois, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Wrenches, of which the lfollowing is aAspecification.

"My invention Lrelatesto new and `useful improvements in wrenches andhas forits object the provision of a wrench which may be easily andquickly adjusted ltodiliierent sizes.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists'inthe combinations and arrangements otpartshereinafter described rand claimed.

The invention will be bestunderstood by reference to the accompanyingvdrawings forming a part.ofthisspecification, and in which, l Y Fig'. 1is a side elevation of a wrenchembodying my invention, with a partremoved. Fig. 2 is afragmentaryside elevation of a wrench embodying myinvention.

Fig. 3 is a transversesectional view taken on substantially line B-voiiFig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a perspective jview of the nut holder used in lmy invention.

Fil .45 is atransverse 'sectional View taken on su stantially line 5 5of Fig. '1.

Figj6`is a vertical sectional view substantiallyline 6-6 of Fig. 1.y

Fig. 7 is a perspective view-of the spring usediny my invention. y

The approved form of construction comprises a wrench having a shank 8,on the upper end of whichis formed a ]a'w 9. Pro-` jecting laterallyfrom vthe shank8 1s a portion 10 having 'a passage 1`1 extendingtheretaken on 'through for the reception Vof the shank 12,

on the upper end of which isjformed al jaw 9', which is adapted' to`cooperate with the jaw' 9. Formed in the `member Sandpartly in themember10,'-is a circular opening 13, into which is adapted to "beinserted a nut case 14, oneside of which iis" bifurcated. Thebifurcated'portions have formed thereon aninwardlyvprojecting shoulder15 which l Renewed .Tuly 14, 1923.

tion which is adaptedto be received inthe opening 20 formed in the nutholders 21. Projecting fromI onesurface of the nut holders 21 is a. stud22 which is adapted to engage in a slot 23 formed in the nut case 1'4.rI he members 21 are provided with fa recess 27 projecting inwardly fromthe end, which isdiagonallycut, as at 29, which is adapted to receive aportion 26 ofjaspring. i Said spring, as shown in Fig. `7,comprisesfa'main shank 24, consisting ofi-a wire doubled upon itself andhaving portions y25 which are turned at right angles to the'member 24and disposed angularly to eachother. AThe members 26 are also inclinedtoward the members 25, that is, they do notmeet at right angles. Inorder to insert the nut into the nut case, the members 26 are insertedinto the recess 27, and the member 24 is inserted into the recess 28formed in the nut case 14. In order to insert the members 26 into thenut holders 21, it is necessary that the members 26 be flexed towardeachother when the nut holders are parallel to each other, therebyplacing the members 26 under tension. After the members 26 have beenplaced within the nut holders which are positioned upon the nut 18, itwill also'be necessary to flex the members 25 outwardly from each other,so that the spring members assume the position shown in dotted lines inFig. 7. Consequently, the members 25 are .continually under strain. Thenut, withthe nut holders attached, is assembled from only one side'ofthe nut case 14, that is, that side of the nut case in which the grooves23" are `formed.

The purpose of this constructionis to afford a means of quicklyadjusting the aws 9 and 9 relatively'to each other. When the nut hasbeenassembled within the nut case, as described, by pressure of 'the .thumbagainst the nut 18, thesame may be pushed outwardly relatively to thenut case 14, so as to disengage fromthe teeth 12 `formed on the shank12. In pushing the nut out wardly, the lspring members whichA arealready under tension, are placed in greater tension, so that'there is atendency to restore the nut 18 'to its positionfof-engagement or meshingwith the'teeth 12. The Vnutholders are cut diagonally, as at'2'9,forthepurpose of allowing'this swinging pivotal movement. WhenV the nutholders engage against thenut case along the edges 29, further movementor` the nut 18 outwardlyisjprevented. As will be readily understood,thel nu'tholdersswing upon the studs 22 as a pivot, the portions 26 ofthe spring member serving to retain the nut holders in close engagementwith the surface of the nut case and thereby to retain the members 22within the grooves or recesses 23. In this formation, as clearly shownin Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, a shoulder 30 is formed upon which the nut holderrests, as well as upon the portion 30. Provided in the member 8 is arecess 31,l in which is positioned a spiral spr-ing 32 embracing areduced inwardly projecting portion 38 of a pin 34 which is seated inthe recess 81. As shown in Fig. 2, the shank 12 may be inclinedrelatively to the shank 8. Upon inclining the shank 21 relatively to theshank 8, the member-3&1 is pressed inwardly, thereby compressing thespring 34. The result is that the member Bil tends to restore the member12 to a position in which the same will be parallel with the member 8.This has special utility inasmuch as it is customary, in the use of apipe wrench, to press the movable shank inwardly toward the stationaryshank, thus providing a wider space between the o uter endsofthefjaws.Before` the jaws will tightly grip the4 pipe inserted therebe- 4 tween,it is necessary that the members be restored to a relative position moreclosely approximating a parallel one.

With a wrench constructed i-n the manner described, the adjustment ofthe jaws is very j," easily brought about by disengaging the nut 18 fromthe teeth 12. Upon the proper adjustment having been arrived at, the nut18 is restored toits meshing position with the teeth 12 by means of thespring members25 and 24. It is also apparent that, on

V account of the nut case 14 being rotatably mounted in the circularopening 13, the nut 18 will mesh with the teeth 12', irrespective of theposition of the member 12 relatively ,Y to the member 8.

While l have illustrated and described the preferred form ofconstruction for carrying my invention intoy effect, this is capableV ofvariation and modification without. departing from the spirit of theinvention. I, therefore, do not wish to be limited to the precisedetails of the construction set forth, but desire to avail myself ofsuch variations and modifications as come within the scope of theappended claims.

Having described my invention, what l claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is:

1. A wrench comprising a shank having a stationary jaw at one endthereof; a movable jaw co-operating with said stationary jaw; a sleevesecured to said shank at one s ide thereof; a toothed shank secured tosaid movable jaw and extending through said sleeve parallel with saidfirst mentioned shank; a circular nut vcase rotatably mounted in saidsleeve and slidably engaging said toothed shank to permit rockingthereof in said sleeve; and a disengageable laterally movable spiral nutmounted in said circular nut case and normally operatively engaging saidtoothed shank, substantially as described.

2. A wrench comprising a shank having a stationary jaw at one endthereof; a movable jaw co-operating with said stationary jaw; a sleevesecured to said shank at one side thereof; a toothed shank secured tosaid movable jaw and extending through said sleeve parallel with saidfirst mentioned shank; a circular nut case rotatably mounted in saidsleeve and slidably engaging-said toothed shank to permit rockingthereof in said sleeve; a spring mounted in said nut case; nut holdersmounted on inwardly projecting portions of said spring; and a spirallythreaded nutengaging at its opposite ends said nut holders and adaptedto mesh with the teeth on said shank, substantially as described. y .j i

3. `A wrench comprising a shank having a stationary jaw at one endthereof; a movable jaw co-operating with said stationary jaw; a sleevesecured to, said shank at one side thereof; a toothed shank secured tosaid movable jaw and extending through` said sleeve parallel with saidfirst mentioned shank; a. circular nut case rotatably mounted in saidsleeve andslidably engaging said toothed vshank to permit rockingthereof in said sleeve a spring mounted in said nut case g nut holdersmounted on inwardly projecting portions of said spring; a spirallythreaded nut engaging at its opposite ends said nut holders and adaptedto mesh with the teeth on said sha-nk; and resilient means on said firstmentioned shank normally retaining saidtoothed shank in parallelposition relatively to said first mentioned shank, substantially asdescribed. i i

4. A wrench comprising a shank having a stationary jaw; a movable jawco-operating with said stationary jaw; a sleeve secured to said shank; atoothed shank secured to said movable jaw and projecting through saidsleeve; .a longitudinal grove in said toothed shank; a circular nut caserotatably mounted in said sleeve having a recess in its periphery; ashoulder in said recess slidably engaging the groove in said toothedshank and being movable therewith; and disengageable means for adjustingsaid toothed shank relatively to said rst mentioned shank,substantially' as described. 5. A wrench comprising a shank having astationary aw at one end thereof; a movable jaw cooperating with saidstationary jaw; a sleeve mounted on said shank; a toothed shank securedto said movable jaw, slidably mounted in said sleeve and adapted to lieparallel with or inclined to said first mentioned shank; a circular nutcase rotatably mounted in said first mentioned shank; a spring mountedin said nut case;

portions of said spring; and a spirally 5 threaded nut engaging at itsopposite ends said nut holders and adapted to mesh with the teeth onsaid shank, substantially as described.,

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of 10 nut holders mounted on inwardly projecting two subseribing Witnesses.

JOHN PATRICK COUGHLIN.

Witnesses

